Weekly round-up: Ofsted grades and teacher pay fears

Catch up on all your must-read Tes news and analysis right here:

• Heads: DfE failure to scrap Ofsted grades ‘deeply disappointing’
  The government has defended its decision not to scrap single-word Ofsted judgements, in response to a parliamentary committee’s recommendation that they be replaced as a “priority”.
• Keegan: I’ll look at how we can fund teacher pay rise
  Education secretary Gillian Keegan has said she will look at “how we can fund” any pay rise recommended by the School Teachers’ Review Body, but added that a grant would be “hard to guarantee”.
• MAT chiefs warn over ‘unaffordable’ teacher pay rise
  Any teacher pay rise above 2-3 per cent will be “unaffordable” for many schools, multi-academy trust leaders have warned after receiving letters setting out “deeply troubling” funding levels for next year.
• Revealed: Where trust capacity funding goes
  The Department for Education’s Trust Capacity Fund was set up to encourage trusts to take on challenging schools. Tes analysis uncovers to what extent this is happening.
• Special schools: DfE considers reforming £10K-per-place system
  The DfE is actively considering reforming special school funding amid questions about why it has remained at £10,000 per commissioned pupil place for more than 10 years.
• Cut summer break ‘to rescue Covid generation GCSEs’
  Changing the school holidays would help to tackle the “damaging” legacy of the Covid pandemic on pupil attainment, researchers say.
• Poor mental health ‘fuelling’ absence crisis, DfE told
  A rise in child mental health problems is “fuelling” the school attendance crisis - and issuing fines to parents for absence is not helping the situation, a new report warns.
• GCSE science: Sharp fall in ‘crucial’ practical work
  The proportion of Year 10 and Year 11 students regularly doing hands-on practical experiments in their science lessons has fallen dramatically, Royal Society analysis shows.
• Why more schools are turning to T levels - and what’s stopping others
  Despite growing interest in T levels from schools, numerous barriers still exist to more schools adopting the qualification, finds Dan Worth.
• Most schools train leaders to tackle rising parent complaints
  More than half of schools have trained senior leaders to support complaints management in the past year amid a surge in the number of parent grievances, a poll suggests.
• Converting school space for childcare ‘costs thousands’, DfE told
  With a government pilot scheme exploring how unused school space could be repurposed to offer more childcare places, a headteachers’ leader has warned that converting classrooms can cost tens of thousands of pounds.
• Five basic errors that ruin teacher job applications
  With the teacher recruitment season underway, an experienced leader who regularly reviews applications outlines the mistakes that commonly crop up.
• MAT Tracker: regional board highlights from February 2024
  Your essential guide to the latest regional advisory board decisions affecting multi-academy trusts across the country. You can also find our interactive map giving information on all of the country’s trusts here.

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